What does a Automotive Engineering Technician do?

Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency. Day to day that includes work like document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools and Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures.

What skills should a Automotive Engineering Technician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Automotive Engineering Technician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes A&D Technology iTest, Autodesk AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Inventor, Computer aided design CAD software, and Computer aided manufacturing CAM software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Automotive Engineering Technician work?

O*NET records 12 titles for this occupation, including Laboratory Technician, Lab Technician, Research Technician, and Auto Design Checker. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Automotive Engineering Technician need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 37% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Automotive Engineering Technician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Automotive Engineering Technician resume example

A resume for a Automotive Engineering Technician needs to show the work itself: assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency. Day to day that means work like this: document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools; set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Laboratory Technician
Lab Technician
Research Technician
Auto Design Checker
Auto Technician
Auto Test Technician
Automotive Design Checker
Automotive Technician
Automotive Test Technician
Durability Technician
Performance Technician
Transportation Engineering Technician

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools.
Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures.
Read and interpret blueprints, schematics, work specifications, drawings, or charts.
Inspect or test parts to determine nature or cause of defects or malfunctions.
Monitor computer-controlled test equipment, according to written or verbal instructions.
Analyze test data for automotive systems, subsystems, or component parts.
Install equipment, such as instrumentation, test equipment, engines, or aftermarket products, to ensure proper interfaces.
Perform or execute manual or automated tests of automotive system or component performance, efficiency, or durability.
Maintain test equipment in operational condition by performing routine maintenance or making minor repairs or adjustments as needed.
Analyze performance of vehicles or components that have been redesigned to increase fuel efficiency, such as camless or dual-clutch engines or alternative types of air-conditioning systems.
Improve fuel efficiency by testing vehicles or components that use lighter materials, such as aluminum, magnesium alloy, or plastic.
Fabricate new or modify existing prototype components or fixtures.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Read and interpret blueprints, schematics, work specifications, drawings, or charts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect or test parts to determine nature or cause of defects or malfunctions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

A&D Technology iTest
Autodesk AutoCAD Mechanical
Autodesk Inventor
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Data acquisition software
IBM Notes
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Word
National Instruments LabVIEW
PTC Creo Parametric
SAP software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Calipers
Chassis dynamometers
Compression testers
Computer numerical controlled CNC milling machines
Computerized numerical control CNC turning centers
Crack detection equipment
Electronic engine analyzers
Engine lathes
Environmental chambers
Exhaust gas analyzers
Flow benches
Force gauges

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

A&D Technology iTest
Autodesk AutoCAD Mechanical

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Critical Thinking
03Speaking
04Active Listening
05Complex Problem Solving
06Operations Monitoring
07Quality Control Analysis
08Writing
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Mathematics

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Engineering and Technology
Mechanical
Computers and Electronics
Mathematics
English Language
Physics
Transportation
Design

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

37%Associate's Degree
30%Bachelor's Degree
15%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Automotive Engineering Technician do?: Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency. Day to day that includes work like document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools and Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures.
What skills should a Automotive Engineering Technician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Automotive Engineering Technician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes A&D Technology iTest, Autodesk AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Inventor, Computer aided design CAD software, and Computer aided manufacturing CAM software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Automotive Engineering Technician work?: O*NET records 12 titles for this occupation, including Laboratory Technician, Lab Technician, Research Technician, and Auto Design Checker. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Automotive Engineering Technician need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 37% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Automotive Engineering Technician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.